


Homecoming

by K_lara7



Series: In A Galaxy Far Far Away [3]
Category: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-27 01:05:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 6,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9943451
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/K_lara7/pseuds/K_lara7
Summary: Things are going good for Jyn and Cassian until the Imperials show up on Hoth.





	1. Lost

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm still working on Collide, but this story flared up and refused to wait.

"Echo Base, this is the Kestrel, requesting permission to land," the pilot, Bodhi Rook, repeated into the comms. 

Static was his only answer. He looked over to his companion. Jyn sat tensly at his side. "Any idea why they aren't answering? Could communications be down?"

"It's almost like there is no one on the other end. I don't like this. Someone should be answering."

"I guess we are just going to have to do a fly over and hope the soldiers manning the guns aren't trigger happy."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Knock that off," she said with a sigh. The shuttle was just coming into atmosphere, they could see the edge of the base, and the huge gaping hole where the roof used to be. 

Jyn gasped at the sight. Echo Base had been invaded, almost half the structure was gone. As this sank in, she felt her stomach fall out. Did they have any warning? How many people made it out safely? Were their friends gone? 

And the most terrifying thought, was Cassian dead?

"Make a circle, watch for Imperials. I need to see if there is somewhere safe to land."

Bodhi didn't argue. They were his friends too. He landed in what remained of the shuttle bay. By silent agreement, the two split up. Bodhi went toward the command center, Jyn headed for the officers' quarters. 

She found herself alone in Cassian's room. Or rather, what was left of their quarters. A small piece of the roof had caved in and the wind was causing a pileup of snow in the corner. Beyond that, the room seemed untouched. Cassian's flight jacket was still hanging over a chair. He must have been wearing his parka when the attack came.

Tears silently falling, she sank slowly to the floor, kneeling there, remembering their last conversation.

"Don't go," Cassian whispered. "I have a bad feeling about this."

"I don't want to go, but I was requested for this meeting. Bodhi is going with me. We'll be back in two weeks."

"It feels like a lifetime."

"We've been apart for longer periods of time before."

"This just feels different. I wish I could go with you, but General Rieekan still has me grounded." 

"That's what happens when you break one of his toys." She paused, concern in her eyes, "seriously, Cassian, you need to work on heeling. That speeder crash was bad."

He sighed, "Just promise me you will be careful."

"I promise," she agreed. "But that goes both ways. You could be assigned to a mission before we get back. You need to be careful too."

"I will. And when you get back, I have a surprise for you," he said with a grin.

"I have one for you too. Tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."

"Nope. I want you to have a reason to come back." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

She pushed back a little, and bracketed her hands around his face. The look in her eyes pierced his heart. "You are my reason for coming back. You are my home. We are on the most inhospitable planet in the world, but it's home because you are with me."

At a loss for words, he pulled her in even tighter. 

The sound of the door opening pulled her out of the memory. Bodhi stood there uncertainly. He didn't think he'd ever seen Jyn cry. "The control room has been wiped clean, I think the Alliance did it. I can't find any trace of where they have gone."

Jyn stood, brushing the tears aside. "I saw a few bodies when we landed."

"I'll see if I can identify anyone. It's probably not a good idea to stay here. The Empire now knows of this base. They could still be watching it."

She nodded. "Let me grab a few things and I will meet you at the shuttle. Go to your quarters, gather your things, and we'll leave."

As he left, Bodhi shut the door gently.

Steeling herself for the pain, Jyn wrenched open the closet and grabbed a bag. She loaded it with her few possessions. Then she started on his. 

As a spy, Cassian had collected very few belongings. She grabbed his shirts and flight jacket. There was a box with his few holos he'd managed to hold on to. Tucked in by the edge of the shelf was a small box she'd never seen. Curiosity made her open it. In the center of a white velvet cushion was the most beautiful ring she'd ever seen. The band was silver, etched with tiny stars. In the center was a green stone the same color as her eyes.

"And when you get back, I have a surprise for you," Cassian had said. 

"Was this his surprise?" she wondered, tearing up again. Carefully, she closed the box and tucked it gently into her pocket. Now was not the time to think about what the ring meant. 

She pulled something out of her pocket and placed it where the ring had been. If Cassian came back, she hoped he got her message. Then, with a last look around the room, she walked away from the memories. 

As she walked back to the shuttle, she looked at the faces of every body she passed. The cold of Hoth had preserved them. Mercifully, she recognized no one.

Bodhi beat her back to the shuttle. He was already powering up the engines for take off. "I'm not sure where we should go. Do you know where the fall back point was if Echo Base was compromised?"

"No. It was need to know only. Cassian probably knew." She stopped to compose herself. "Even if he survived, I have no idea how to contact him. I never got to tell him--," she broke off. Before she could cage her mid, she asked, "Have you ever been to Fest?"

Bodhi shook his head. "No. I've never even heard of it."

"Cassian was born there. He spoke fondly of it. I've always wanted to see it."

"It's a place to start," the pilot responded as he pushed the shuttle to take off.


	2. Picking up the Pieces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> WhIle off world, Hoth Base was destroyed. Now Jyn and Bodhi have to pick up the pieces without their friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 99% of this story is written. As K-2 would put it, the chances are high that I will finish posting this quickly.

Crop rotation on a moisture farm in the middle of a desert made no sense to Jyn. Even after two years on this Force forsaken planet, she hadn't figured it out. How could Cassian speak so fondly of this place?

On the other hand, Bodhi had taken to it like a fish to water. Fest and Jedah had very similar climates so he adapted quickly to their new home.

While Bodhi managed the farm, Jyn took in repair work to earn credits. Time moved slowly here. 

To their neighbors, Jyn Andor was a widow living with her younger brother after her husband was killed. She was lonely, and any mention of her loss brought a sadness to her eyes that no one questioned. 

Jyn had taken to wearing the ring she found in Cassian's quarters. Up until now this kept the men of the village from flirting with her. It was also a reminder of all she had lost. Being among people who talked with his accent was hard. Another reminder of the man who stole her heart. 

This area of Fest had women few and far between. The men had been getting bolder in their pursuit of her. One man, Lorel, refused to take no for an answer. If he persisted, they might have to leave. Just the day before he had come to the homestead under the guise of having repair work for Jyn. Instead he tried to make a move on the Widow Andor. While it didn't end well for him, Jyn was still feeling the sting in her ribs from the fight. 

Her shirt had been torn in the scuffle, so today she wore one of Cassian's. Bodhi was going to do his best to repair the damage, but she was sure it was a lost cause. 

She was once again lost in memories when a little voice called out to her. "Mama!" Turning, she saw her son running toward her. He was already the spitting image of his father. Or, rather, what his father must have looked like as a toddler. If only Cassian had been alive to meet him. 

"Jeron," she said as she knelt on the ground, arms open to catch him. "What are you doing out here?"

"Unca Bodhi says come!" the little one shouted.

Jyn laughed, kissing him on the forehead. "Alright, I'm coming." 

"Up! Up!" Her son cried. 

"I can't, little one. It hurts too much today."

"Because the bad man hurt you?" 

"Yes. But it's almost better," she lied not wanting to worry him. 

She ambled her way up to the homestead, marvelling at the flowers Bodhi had managed to grow. Now, it looked like they would have to find a new place to live, and all they had built would be for nothing. This homestead was never supposed to be permanent, but they had no idea where their friends were.

When they first arrived on Fest, the two of them had tried to find the new Alliance headquarters. They had no luck. What little information they could gather was old before they received it. And from what they could tell, the Alliance was now always on the move.

They hadn't heard anything about Cassian either. Two and a half years with no information, she was starting to give up hope. It was quite possible that he was long since dead, buried in a frozen grave half a galaxy away.

She had chosen Fest, at first, because it was Cassian's birth planet. There was a slim possibility, but he might have still had friends here. People who would tell him of a woman masquerading as his wife. 

That possibility was never realized. Jyn remembered Cassian saying he had been in the fight since he was six years old. Perhaps that was when he left and no one would have known him.

She stayed on for their son. All she had to remind him of his father was a worn jacket and the planet he was born on. Her biggest regret was failing to tell Cassian he was going to be a father. Their last morning together on Hoth she had mentioned a surprise. The plan had been to wait until she got back to tell him. There was no way he would have let her go on that mission of he had known. Because of his injuries, there was no way he could have gone with her. Maybe he would still be alive if she had done things differently. 

"Mama crying?" her son asked.

"I'm alright little one," she said, wiping the tears that came too quickly from her eyes. "Let's go see Uncle Bodhi."

When they were close to the house, Jyn waved Jeron on to run the rest of the way while she followed him. As she neared the front door, she heard Bodhi talking quietly with someone who sounded so familiar. She stepped into the doorway and a dark figure stepped forward. "Hello, Jyn." 

It couldn't be. Her mind had to be playing tricks on her. The world was spinning. Jyn's last thought before she blacked out was, Cassian's alive?


	3. Missing In Action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Imperials have entered the base.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally this was going to be five chapters. Now it's looking like it might be six or seven. We'll see.

It had been over two years, but Cassian remembered the Battle of Hoth like it was yesterday. 

"It was an Imperial probe droid. There's a good bet the Empire knows we're here," Han Solo reported.

Captain Andor was standing on the other side of the room, listening as the evacuations were planned. He had no way of warning Jyn. They had to maintain radio silence. He tried to remember if anyone had ever told her where to go if Echo Base was compromised. As the information was need to know, he was pretty sure they hadn't. 

He wanted to hit something. Unfortunately now was not the time. His team needed to help with the evacuations first. Rogue One had their assigned officers they would be taking off planet. With Bodhi off world, co-piloting the U-wing fell onto his shoulders. 

From that point on nothing went right. K-2 had gotten all of the passengers on board except one. They were waiting as long as they could for the last person when Solo's voice came over the comms. "Transport, you better take off, we can't get to you. I'll get her out on the Falcon."

Damn the Princess and her stubbornness anyway. Cassian nodded at K-2 and they took off. As they entered hyperspace, he let his mind drift back to his last conversation with Jyn.

"Don't go," Cassian whispered. "I have a bad feeling about this." There had been an ache near his heart since he heard she was going off world without him. Something inside him wanted to grab her and hold tight. 

He wished that his last patrol over the surface had gone differently. That meteorite had taken out one of his engines. It was a miracle he and his weapons officer had made it out in one piece. Although his ribs didn't feel like it. There really was no way he was up for a mission. 

"When you get back, I have a surprise for you," he said with a grin.

"I have one for you too. Tell me yours, I'll tell you mine."

"Nope. I want you to have a reason to come back." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

He never got the chance to ask her to marry him. With a jolt, he realized he left the ring in their rooms. In the haste to evacuate, he never even thought about it. 

If it took years, he would find her. There was no way to send a communication that wouldn't be intercepted by the Empire. They couldn't give away the Rebellion's new location.

Two months after they left Hoth, he returned with K-2 and a team of soldiers to help bury their dead. Sneaking in under the Imperial eye was easier than they thought it would be. Cassian quickly made his way to their quarters. He searched everywhere, but the ring was nowhere to be found. Most of his and Jyn's possessions were gone, including the ring box. A stuffed toy Wookie had been left in its place.

As nothing else on the base seemed to be missing, he could only guess Jyn had been here. She must have left the toy behind as a message. Now he had no reason to leave a message for her to find. He doubted she would be back.

Since that day Cassian had spent every free moment looking for Jyn. He scoured all transmissions, Imperial or Alliance, for any clue he could find. Sometimes K-2 would help. 

It was during a routine data transmission from one of Cassian's contacts that gave K-2 a lead. The contact mentioned a brother and sister living on Fest. The neighbors believed they were refugees, but the couple had never confirmed it. And the woman was calling herself Mrs. Cassian Andor. 

After analyzing the information, Kay decided to show the report to his human companion. He found Cassian working under their U-Wing. The hyperdrive had been acting up again.

"It seems congratulations are in order," Kay said. "I wish you had told me you and Jyn got married. I would have changed my search parameters to compensate. Perhaps we would have found her much sooner." 

Cassian started. He hit his head on the underside of the ship in his haste to get out from under it.

"What are you talking about? I never got the chance to ask her before Echo Base was invaded."

"Well, it would seem that you married someone. This report from an agent on Fest mentions your wife. Read it for yourself."


	4. The Homestead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassian has a lead, now he has to find her.

The cantina was a dive. No surprise there, this was Fest after all. For Cassian, the surprise was that Jyn would want to live on this Force forsaken planet. He was only here because his contact had mentioned the place in his report. With any luck, the clientele would be able to help him find his 'wife'. 

That Jyn had been openly living as his wife on his home world still amazed him. Obviously she wanted to be found. 

Cassian sauntered over to the bar, ordering the house special drink. From the smell, the liquor could probably remove the paint from his U-wing. "Excuse me," he asked the bar tender, "But I'm looking for someone. I was told she lives with her brother near here. Her name is Jyn Andor."

From behind him, a man with a broken nose snorted. "Your looking for the Widow Andor? You must be crazy."

"How so?" Cassian asked.

The barkeep responded, "Don't mind Lorel. He's put out because the widow rebuffed him. Rather forcefully I heard."

"Is that so?" the frost in Cassian's voice should have been a warning. 

Unfortunately the man in question was a little too drunk to realize his precarious position. "She hit me with her stick. All I did was try to kiss her. You know how women are. She's playing hard to get, pretending to miss that husband of hers. I don't understand what she's saving herself for. You can't have sex with a ghost."

The captain carefully set his drink down. "No, I suppose you can't." He paused, then grabbed the idiot by the collar. "Why don't you tell me where I can find her?"

"Why should I?" he gasped as Cassian's grip tightened. "You going to kill me if I don't?"

"I might. You wouldn't be the first man I've killed." The quiet conviction is his voice filled the room with dread. "So where can I find her?"

"She and her brother live on a moisture farm two miles north of town. Just follow the road," he choked out.

"I hope for your sake, you didn't hurt her." Cassian dropped him. He turned to the barkeep and handed him two extra credits. "Thank you."

As he turned to leave Lorel asked, "What's she to you, anyway?"

His mouth quirked up, almost into a smile as he responded, "My wife. And I assure you, I am no ghost." With that parting shot, he left.

K-2 was waiting for him at the U-wing. "Any luck?"

Cassian smiled for the first time in a very long time. "Yeah. They're living on a farm two miles north of here. Apparently Jyn has made quite an impression on the local population."

"No surprise there. The chance of that happening was 89%."

"Only 89%?" Cassian laughed. "Let's go. I want to make it before the sun sets."

Bodhi did a double-take when he saw Cassian coming up the hill. If he had any doubts about the identity of his visitor, the droid at his side put an end to them. He turned to Jyn's son and pointed across the field. "Jeron, go get your mama." As the boy scampered off, the pilot turned to greet his friends. 

"Cassian, K-2! It's so good to see you. Come inside. Jyn will be right here. I'm sure you can't wait to see her." He led them into the homestead. "How did you find us? We've been looking for you for so long. So much time passed, we thought maybe you were killed when Hoth was attacked."

"I guessed as much when the locals referred to Jyn as my widow," Cassian said wryly. 

Bodhi winced. "She hoped that by taking your name you would find us. And the name Erso isn't safe," he explained worriedly. 

"That's true. Almost all my assets were looking for you guys. One of my contacts thought I might want to know I had a wife."

"I was disappointed that I wasn't invited to the wedding," Kay moaned.

"Don't feel too bad, not even Cassian was invited," Bodhi laughed.

A gasp at the door caught their attention. Cassian stepped forward as the most beautiful woman in his world she came through the door. Softly, he said, "Hello Jyn." 

He lundged forward to catch her as she passed out. That was a surprise. Had there ever been a time when she fainted? Picking her up he turned to Bodhi for directions to her room. 

He stumbled as without warning he was hit in the leg by a jawa sized demon. "Bad man not hurt Mama! Leave her alone!"

Bodhi rushed forward to pick the little boy up. The child's dark hair fell into his eyes as he tried to take another swing.

"Stop. Cassian isn't a bad man, little one. He's--- mama's friend."

"But Mama's hurt. He hurt Mama?"

"No. She's just overcome with happiness." Bodhi looked over at Cassian. The poor man had lost all the color in his face. There was going to be a lot of explaining to do. "Let's lay Jyn down, then I can answer any questions you have."

Cassian nodded, still staring at the child. He had a son?


	5. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally together again, decisions need to be made.

She felt so light in his arms, as Cassian set her down on the bed. With a gentle touch he pushed the hair back from her face. There were smudges under her eyes indicating how tired she must have been. Had she been eating or taking care of herself?

She was so still and quiet, he checked the rise of her chest to make sure she was still breathing. That's when he noticed what she was wearing. It was one of his shirts that had been left behind on Hoth. He rubbed her hands, his fingers grazing the ring on her finger, his ring.

Movement at the doorway brought his attention back to Bodhi. Behind him, the child peered around his legs. The fearful look on his face was familiar. Cassian was probably wearing the same one. 

Bodhi motioned him back out to the living quarters, closing the door as they left Jyn asleep. Taking seats around a small table, Bodhi scooped the child onto his lap. K-2 stood in the corner behind Jyn's work table, silently observing.

Cassian had a million questions, but he started with, "Is she ill?"

His friend laughed, shaking his head. "I think you gave her a fright. She's missed you so much, dreams about you, about Hoth and how she wasn't there to save you."

The captain shook his head. "I'm grateful you weren't there. I knew you both survived. There were too many who didn't. We had some warning that the Imperials were coming. Han Solo discovered a probe droid as it was transmitting our location. Ground forces were sent out to give us time to evacuate. K-2 and I were assigned to transport personnel off world. Our ship was one of the last to leave."

He turned his attention to the child who was silently watching him. Nodding, he started to ask, "Who--."

"Oh, right. Uhm," Bodhi paused thinking that Jyn should be the one to explain about the boy. "Cassian Andor, meet Jeron Andor." 

"Is he--," he stopped.

"Yes," the pilot nodded. "Jyn never had the chance to tell you."

"I think," Cassian said, pulling the stuffed Wookie from his pocket, "this belongs to you, Jeron." He leaned forward, extending it to the child. The little one slowly reached out to take the toy before tucking back into his uncle. "I found it in our quarters on Hoth. At the time I didn't understand the message Jyn left, but I think I do now."

"That last mission was difficult for her. The baby made her ill although she tried to hide it. Before we left, she had already made arrangements to be transferred to a desk job. Princess Leia had just approved the orders."

The little one squirmed off Bodhi's lap and scooted over to him. "Up. Up," he said, stretching his arms out. The captain settled him on his lap. The child had dark hair and soul deep brown eyes, to Cassian it was like looking in a mirror. 

Slowly the boy reached out and with one small hand he touched his beard. In the other hand he clutched his new toy. It was that moment when Cassian knew his life would never be the same. 

From the doorway he heard Jyn whisper, "Surprise." He looked up, smiling at her. His world suddenly made sense again. It only took a moment to stand, shift his son to his hip, and cross the room. He wrapped his free arm around her and drew her in for a hug. 

They were interupted by Kay. "You know, Jyn, it would have been nice if you had invited Cassian and I to his wedding. I was most disappointed to learn that we had missed it."

"Don't be too disappointed Kay, there wasn't much to see," Bodhi answered as Jyn burst out laughing through fresh tears. "Would you like a tour of the farm? I'm sure Jeron would like to meet his Uncle Kay?" he asked as he took the boy from his father. 

"Thanks, Bodhi," Cassian said. 

"You two talk. And be careful of her ribs. She's still sore today."

"It's nothing," Jyn argued.

"One of the men from the village snuck up on her while she was working yesterday. He got in a few good jabs before she broke his nose," Bodhi said darkly.

"I met him at the Cantina while I was looking for you. I knew I should have killed him."

"No, Cassian. I'm fine. We are fine. Especially now that you are here."

"We're going out now, Captain. Would you ask her already?" Kaytoo said sarcastically as he stomped off.

"Ask me what?" She said as she led him to the bench pushing him down so she could cuddle into his side without aggravating her injuries.

"That last mission you and Bodhi went on, I was scheduled to go, too. I planned on taking a couple of extra days, a romantic weekend, and ask you to marry me. Then I had to go crash the speeder, and Rieekan changed his mind. The mission was too important to scrap, so he sent the two of you without me. I--," he stopped again, before continuing uncertainly. 

"I bought the ring a couple weeks before, when I was doing the recon on Jabba for Han Solo. The ring was at one of the market place stalls on Tattooine. I thought it fit you perfectly."

"It is perfect," she assured him.

"I-- will you marry me?" he mumbled into her hair before he could loose his courage.

She nodded, speechless. Then she realized she hadn't said anything. "Yes," she said simply scooting in closer.

"The real question," she continued, "is where do you want to live? I know Fest is your home world, but it's never really felt like home. We've been living in a holding pattern, waiting. Bodhi might miss his flowers, but he won't miss the people."

"Do you want to go back to the Alliance?" he asked uncertainly. 

"Yes, we both do. For the first several months we were here, we searched every holo that came through hoping to find where the Rebels had gone to ground. Then Jeron was born. That's when we decided to settle in. His birth was hard. I think it was harder on Bodhi than it was for me."

She smiled mischievously. "He had to help me with the birth. There aren't a lot of women on Fest. And none of them approved of us. So when the time came, we didn't ask for help."

"What do you mean, they didn't approve of you?" he asked outraged.

"Shh... it's alright. Apparently your home world doesn't approve of children born out of wedlock. They also didn't believe my 'marriage' was real. You weren't here, so they thought I made up a convenient dead husband. Living with my 'brother' who clearly looks nothing like me, doesn't help."

"I wish I had been with you for the birth of our son. It couldn't have been easy alone."

"After Jeron's birth we decided to keep to ourselves even more." She smiled a little. "Don't tell him I said so, but if Bodhi ever decides to quit flying, he'd have a great future in midwifery." 

He smiled again. "Thank you for naming him after me."

"Your welcome." She turned playful. "I almost named him Cassian, but decided against it. I don't think the galaxy is big enough for two of you."

Cassian laughed at that. "So when did you become Mrs. Andor?"

"At the very beginning. I was never going to lie to Jeron. He was always going to know how wonderful his father was. And we hoped that you would be able to find us. Going by Erso was never a possibility and with the baby coming, I could hardly pass myself off as Bodhi Rook's unmarried sister." Uncertainly she asked, "You don't mind?"

"My only regret is not seeing you at our wedding," he said teasingly. Then he turned serious. "I guess I'll just have to make it up to you." 

She leaned up, kissing him deeply. The flood gates on her emotions opened up and she couldn't stop crying. 

He just held her through the storm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is where the story arc was originally going to end. I want to thank everyone who commented and gave kudos.
> 
> I may add a chapter, or write a second story.


	6. Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Togethere again, the Andors, K2 and Bodhi start blending into a family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know I said this story was done, but this chapter doesn't fit in the sequel. And since it's finished, I'm adding it here.

Kaytoo had no idea how human children were supposed to behave. This minature Cassian liked to take off running forward, come back and then run circles around him. After circling around trying to avoid stepping on him, Kay decided to just move slowly and let the little one run around him.

"You'll get used to him. He's full of energy."

"Considering who his parents are, the chances that he wouldn't have energy would be very low."

They climbed a small hill on the edge of the homestead. Bodhi sighed. "I can't believe I am going to miss this place. I always knew it was only a temporary home, but it was home for a while."

"Do you want to stay?" the droid asked.

"Not really. I've missed my friends, and flying."

Just then Jeron came running by with his arms outstretched. He was making a humming sound like a small ship. Stumbling, he came to a halt in front of Kaytoo. "Up! Up!"

If Kay could roll his eyes he would. This little creature was going to be a handful. Stiffly, the droid placed his arms on each side of the child's waist and lifted him off the ground. Holding him out like he was offensive dirty laundry, Kay trudged along next to Bodhi. "Come Little Cassian, let's go explore your father's ship."

Two hours later a sleepy "Little Cassian" found himself tucked in to the shoulder of an Imperial security droid as he nodded off for his nap. Kaytoo seemed to take to Uncle-hood amazingly well. Bodhi smiled at the sight they made. 

"We should probably head back. Jeron is going to sleep for a while, he should probably do it in his own bed. I think we have given them enough time to "kiss and make up".

"I think so too. By my estimate, only half the amount of time was needed. But the child was having a good time."

"You are in so much trouble my friend," Bodhi smirked.

"How so?"

"I think you have just volunteered yourself as a babysitter and guardian."

"Absolutely not. I already have one Andor to babysit. I am not taking on the responsibility of two."

"You mean three?"

"Jyn can take care of herself," the droid growled.

When they entered the homestead, Cassian and Jyn were making dinner. The table was already set. 

Jyn looked over at them, shocked to see Jeron asleep in the droid's arms. She rushed over to take him, but Kay tilted his head. "The odds are high that the child will wake if we move him too many times. I can hold him, or put him to bed."

"Alright. His bed is in my room. Follow me." 

As Jyn led Kaytoo to the bedroom, Bodhi took her place in the kitchen. "You let Jyn cook?" he laughed. 

"She's gotten a lot better at it since we were last together. She said you've been teaching her."

"There's not much to do on Fest if you don't mingle with the locals. They didn't seem to want us around," Bodhi shrugged. 

"I want to thank you for being here with them. Without you, I--," Cassian paused.

"Please. She might not be my sister by blood, but she is my family. We're leaving, right? Going back to the Alliance, back home?"

"Yes. As long as that's what you want, too. Jyn said it was."

"I miss flying and being a part of something bigger than desert farming. It's never really felt like home."

"Then it's settled. We'll leave for Sullust tomorrow. Jyn wants to do some supply shopping before we leave. For some reason, she doesn't think the Rebellion will have much in the way of toddler supplies."

Bodhi smiled. "Yeah. I imagine not. He's a little hellion. I wonder if the Alliance can handle him."

"He's going to stay a child as long as I have something to say about it," Cassian said.

From the doorway, Jyn replied darkly, "You're going to have to get in line. The Alliance isn't my first choice for raising a child, but our child isn't going to be a soldier at six." 

"You don't have to go back. I could visit on leave time."

"No. No place is safe from the Empire. We aren't going to be seperated again. And I need to be part of this fight, even if it's sorting through boring requisitions."

"It won't be. General Madine has already requested you be assigned to his team, if we found you. And Bodhi was specifically requested by Admiral Akbar. He's now in charge of the fleet."

Neither of these names meant anything to Jyn and Bodhi. "We've been out of the loop for a while. I don't know either of them. Why would they request us?" she asked. Another thought occurred to her. "What about Draven?"

"General Crix Madine has taken over intelligence. He's an Imperial defector with a lot of knowledge of the enemy. I had to request permission to spend Rebellion resources looking for the two of you. When he read your files he was pissed that the Alliance misplaced you and he blamed Draven for the oversight. You should have known the location of our rendezvous point. For now, Draven has been assigned to a different post. We won't be answering to him."

Cassian started putting the food on the table as Kaytoo walked out of the bedroom. 

"Your offspring will need to learn that I am not a climbing structure, Cassian," he said flatly. The three humans burst out in shared laughter, and the dark moment passed.

To Kaytoo's frustration, their laughter woke Jeron up. He padded out to the table. "Up! Up!" he shouted at Jyn. Cassian knelt down to his eye level. "Mama's not feeling good."

"'Cause the bad man hurt her?"

"Yes, because the bad man hurt her. Why don't I hold you?"

The little one bounced up and down, raising his arms. "Up! Up!"

Over the meal, Bodhi entertained Cassian and Kaytoo with homestead stories about Jyn. There was no question about her domestic skills. She was much better with a blaster. 

After the dishes were washed, and Jeron put to bed, the others spent the time planning the move back to Alliance headquarters. The conversation went late into the night. 

Jyn found Cassian staring down at his son, his hand resting on the boy's hair. She wrapped her arms around him from behind. He turned and pulled her forward. Kissing her forehead, he murmured, "Thank you for our son. You have done such an amazing job."

"You might not be saying that in a few days. He takes after you. It's amazing I don't have grey hair."

She pulled him to her bed. "Come to bed. I've missed sleeping next to you." 

Even though her injuries prevented intimacy, Jyn enjoyed the best sleep in over two years snuggled next to him. For Cassian, sleep was a long time coming. He already loved the boy so much, but how was he to keep him safe?

He woke up to a whispered conversation in the living quarters he could hear through the cracked door. "Mama has the man in her bed," Jeron whispered. 

"Mamas sleep with Papas. You're a very lucky young man. You now have both a Mama and a Papa," Bodhi explained. 

"And Uncles!"

"Yes, and uncles."


End file.
